Hannah Kobayashi, a missing Hawaii woman who has not been seen or heard from since she embarked on a trip to New York last month, crossed into Mexico of her own free will instead of catching her flight into the city, according to authorities.
Kobayashi departed from her native Maui on Friday, Nov. 8., and was supposed to catch a connecting flight to New York at Los Angeles International Airport around 11 p.m. the same night, KHON2 reported. Her family has said she missed her connection, so she opted to attend a Lebron James event on Nov. 9 at The Grove shopping center to kill time while she waited for the next flight.
Authorities now believe Kobayashi intentionally ditched her flight, and instead made her way into Mexico on foot, law enforcement sources told NBC News Los Angeles.
“We reviewed video surveillance from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which clearly shows Kobayashi crossing the United States border on foot into Mexico,” LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said. “She was alone with her luggage and appeared unharmed.”
Hannah Kobayashi of Hawaii disappeared while traveling to New York. (Family Handout)
The border security video reportedly shows Kobayashi leaving the United States near Tijuana on Nov. 12 just after noon, shortly after her family said they’d last heard from her. They told authorities she sent out a series of concerning messages to family and friends, including one where she claimed someone was trying to steal her identity.
Kobayahsi’s family earlier this week pushed back on law enforcement’s conclusion.
“It is completely out of character for Hannah to simply disappear without a trace,” her mother and sister wrote in a statement on Facebook. “We remain deeply concerned about Hannah’s safety, her well-being and her current state of mind.”
They also referenced the suicide death of her father, Ryan Kobayashi, in Los Angeles last week, emphasizing that she would have reached out to them if she were able.